Another Weekend, Another Batch Of Reclaimed Wood

I didn't buy much, and if it weren't so convenient I probably wouldn't have bought any.

But I recently heard some rumors about decent reclaimed barn wood being warehoused in...Benton Park West, which is the neighborhood maybe 10 minutes (but only 3 miles) away, which is definitely inside the St. Louis, MO city limits, thus making it a place one typically doesn't find a lot of reclaimed barn wood.

I usually have to drive an hour away, out into the country, to get decent barn wood. Or, I can deal with one of the couple reclaimed wood operations here in town, although the one that typically has the widest selection of barn wood usually has stuff that is the absolute worst quality and yet they want a higher price than anybody else (I won't name names, but it's a sketchy business I refuse to deal with). 

So...good proximity...good reclaimed wood quality...good price...it's sort of like finding a unicorn. And today, I bought that unicorn. 

Really, I only bought a handful of boards - full 2" thick x 8" wide oak boards - but these are the stacks they came from:

The lumber apparently came from a barn in the part of the world shown on the map below. The story I got was that the structure had partially collapsed, and the owners wanted the rest of it brought down before it became a more significant hazard and safety issue.

Everybody's seen barn wood though, right? It's really not any earth-shattering stuff. What I thought was pretty cool was being able to find some so close to home, in a neighborhood with buildings like this:

Not a place one would expect to find barn wood, right? Benton Park West is a strange neighborhood, and one that exemplifies (a little too well) the standard St. Louis characteristic of being able to go 3 blocks in any direction and finding both "good" spots and "bad" spots. This neighborhood has great architecture, houses that have been meticulously cared for, and houses that have plywood covering doors and windows. That said, I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of rehab activity going on...that's always a good sign.

Anyhow...the barn wood, I went there for the barn wood. IL barn wood, salvaged and warehoused by a guy living in Benton Park West, purchased and hauled to a shop by a guy who doesn't have a truck.

Pretty unique Saturday morning all the way around.